"It should be this person. Mother, with such a cultivation, apart from Father and a few elders in the family, there is really no one who can do anything to them. And those few elders are very stubborn and will not help us privately," the gloomy young man said hatefully.
"If you had been able to cultivate the Ghostly Poison Scroll to the late third layer sooner, then even if those few elders were stubborn, you could have pushed your father aside before that old ghost came out of seclusion. Those few elders only recognize cultivation, not people. Not to mention, your maternal grandfather has been putting pressure on them from the outside from time to time. Haven't these few elders also been keeping a low profile all these years?"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on the gloomy young man's face. "Mother, although I was a little late in breaking through to the late third layer, it may not be a bad thing. This way, I can openly defeat everyone in this competition. At that time, even the old ancestor will have nothing to say. Wouldn't it be more legitimate for us to take control of the family?"
"Oh? You're so confident? You've also only just broken through to the third layer of the Ghostly Poison Scroll. We still haven't figured out what realm that illegitimate son has cultivated to. Your good-for-nothing father also privately transcribed the cultivation method of the Ghostly Poison Scroll for that boy to take away," the beautiful woman in the palace dress said, her silver teeth couldn't help but grit.
"Mother, you're really overestimating that boy. When he left as a child, he hadn't even successfully cultivated the first layer. All these years, he has been like a stray dog outside. Where would he get the resources? It's just his good luck that he has been hiding in some deserted mountain valley all these years. Otherwise, he would have died long ago. Even if he has had some opportunities, how can he be stronger than us who have been blessed with unique advantages in the family? Please rest assured, Mother. No matter what, I will not be careless tomorrow. I will deal with this boy with all my might," the gloomy young man said slowly, his face covered in a cold look.
The beautiful woman in the palace dress also nodded. She still appreciated her son's attitude of using his full strength even to catch a rabbit. Before she could speak, the gloomy young man paused and then continued, "Mother, for these decades, why didn't you let my maternal grandfather directly kill those few elders? I imagine Father wouldn't dare to say much. Now, even if the family's old ancestor comes out of seclusion, so what? Could one person really fight against my maternal grandfather and several Golden Core experts?"
Hearing the gloomy young man's words, the beautiful woman in the palace dress shook her head. "You can only say such things in this pavilion. Your maternal grandfather personally set up a formation here. Even if the Huchen old ancestor's Divine Sense breaks in, there will be some anomaly. But it's better to say less of such boastful words. Your cultivation is still too low. The things you're thinking about, your maternal grandfather and I have already considered them. I'll tell you a little now to give you a long memory. You must not underestimate any family or sect. They have their own way of surviving to be passed down."
"Those few elders have a bloodline contract with that old ghost. As long as one of them falls, that old ghost will know in an instant. And it is said that the old ghost is trying to break through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul. At that time, your maternal grandfather had only successfully formed his Nascent Soul for fifty years. And this old ghost has been stuck at the early stage of the Nascent Soul for several hundred years. Although it seems they are both at the early stage of the Nascent Soul, their combat power is definitely completely different. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could crush your maternal grandfather. If you say we could have seized the Huchen family while the old ghost was in seclusion, that would be wishful thinking. Although I have obtained the token to open the Huchen family's protective grand formation, if the Huchen family is in a critical moment, that old ghost, in a desperate situation, could really risk great damage to his cultivation and forcibly interrupt his seclusion. Even if I were to assist from the inside and your maternal grandfather were to attack from the outside, the best outcome would be that both sides are seriously injured. At that time, the family of that bitch from the Second Branch could reap the benefits, and easily take down both of our families at the same time."
The gloomy young man's lips curled. "Mother, isn't there still the Fourth Aunt's lineage? Their family is also a top-tier second-rate family, and their strength cannot be ignored."
"The Fourth Branch? Hmph, do you think she is really on Mother's side? That's just because their family's old ancestor is only at the Pseudo-Core realm and can't break through to the Nascent Soul. The Second Branch also doesn't like her, so she usually tries to curry favor with our lineage. If your maternal grandfather is seriously injured, they will definitely turn against us and strike."
As the beautiful woman in the palace dress spoke, she stretched out a fair jade hand and waved it gently, signaling not to continue on this topic. After a pause, she then asked again, "Didn't that Huchen Liang say that there was also a young man who came with that illegitimate son? Have you found out who this person is?"
"Oh, reporting to Mother, according to Huchen Li who remained at the valley entrance, that strange young man should be the hunchbacked old man's disciple or junior. The specific situation has not been ascertained. The three of them went to the Third Branch's courtyard and hid as soon as they arrived. This person is not a cause for concern. He is only at the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, a little higher than that illegitimate son. But they really treat this place as their home. A Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to bring two Qi Condensation cultivators all the way here."
After hearing this, the beautiful woman in the palace dress also directly ignored Li Yan. "But this Foundation Establishment cultivator's skills are not to be underestimated. He has been hiding with that bitch and her son for more than ten years. No matter how we investigated, we couldn't find their whereabouts. Even this time, the bounty with 'Thorn-Shadow' couldn't stop them from reaching the family. We still need to be on full alert. But their good luck should be at an end. Since they've come this time, they won't be leaving. We'll have your maternal grandfather send the family's Golden Core experts to guard the few necessary roads. This time, they have been under our surveillance all along. After the competition is over, he will definitely go to pick up that bitch and bring her back to the family. As long as they leave here, even if he is at the Pseudo-Core realm, they won't be able to escape. We'll kill that bitch along with them." As she said this, a faint light flashed in her eyes. She still didn't know that the "bitch" she was talking about had already passed away for many years.
The gloomy young man standing to the side suddenly felt the air around him turn a few degrees colder. He also shuddered in his heart. He hadn't expected his mother to still have such hatred for the Third Aunt after all these years. For a moment, he didn't dare to continue to interrupt.
A moment later, the coldness on the beautiful woman in the palace dress slowly receded. She squinted her long, narrow phoenix eyes. "Oh, Mother has already found out the content of the competition that starts tomorrow. Your father really has some tricks up his sleeve. Now that the old ghost is out of seclusion, he is different from before. He really put on a good act before. In the past, I could find out these things with just a word. This time, I had to use several people planted by his side to find out. But those few people have also been exposed. I estimate he will find an excuse to get rid of them later."
Hearing this, the gloomy young man's eyes showed a look of indignation. "Mother, how can he disregard my status as the eldest son? All these years, besides secretly funding that illegitimate son, he has also been vigorously developing the other two branches. To put it bluntly, he just doesn't want me to get the inheritance position smoothly. Hmph, this time I will let him see how terrible his judgment is."
A son actually harbored such resentment towards his father. Hearing this, a trace of pride flashed in the depths of the beautiful woman in the palace dress's eyes. The brainwashing over the years had been effective. She thought to herself, 'Sooner or later, I will change the surname of this Huchen family.'
But her voice was faint. "Alright, let's talk about tomorrow's competition. The competition is divided into..." Then, her voice became lower and lower.
At the same time, similar events were happening in two other magnificent courtyards in the Huchen family estate.
In a spacious guest room, elegantly decorated and with an antique charm.
"Mother, I heard from Huchen Tuhu's message that younger brother Wuding returned this morning? This has made the First Aunt's plans come to nothing."
There were two people in the room. One was a plump middle-aged woman. Her skin was snow-white, her face was gentle, and her figure was dignified and full. And the person speaking at this moment was a young girl standing behind her, gently massaging her shoulders.
The girl was about twenty years old, with a slender figure and skin as smooth as a mirror. Her long black hair was casually tied behind her. Her figure was curvaceous. As she spoke, with the tapping of her jade hands, a pair of high, proud peaks on her chest swayed gently, making one's blood run hot.
"It's that child Wuding who has returned. But I haven't seen your Fourth Aunt return with him. Huiqing, go find Wuding in a little while. You and Wuding were quite close as children. There has been no news of him and his mother all these years. Alas..." As the plump woman spoke, she couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Mother, what do you mean we were close as children? I was the one who took care of him as a child, okay? Otherwise, who knows how badly he would have been bullied by Huchen Wanli and Huchen Jianghai. This kid is really something. Now that he's back, he doesn't even come to see his second sister. He just hides away. Hmph!" Huchen Huiqing's beautiful eyes flashed, and the corners of her mouth curled up, revealing a pair of small, snow-white canine teeth as she snorted.
"You child, you have no manners. You call Huchen Wanli by his name. No matter what, he is your older brother. It's right for Wuding not to go around after he's back. He has been away from the family for all these years. To go around in a high-profile manner as soon as he's back is not appropriate." The gentle and beautiful woman stretched out her hand and patted a delicate jade hand on her shoulder with a doting look.
"Mother, I treat him as my older brother, but he may not treat me as his younger sister. The First Aunt and Fourth Aunt bullied the Third Aunt away, and then they secretly joined forces to suppress our lineage. If not for my maternal grandfather having the same strength, we would probably have been driven out like the Third Aunt. I really don't know how Dad can be like this. I feel cold for him," Huchen Huiqing said, her beautiful eyes raised, clearly showing her fiery personality.
"Huiqing, don't talk nonsense. That's your father. You don't understand the difficulty of managing a family. He is also helpless and heartbroken. Now it's finally better. The old ancestor has come out of seclusion, and all the crises have been resolved. It's a pity, a pity, if your Third Aunt could still be here. Her sect's power was too weak back then, not enough to protect her. Even your mother was in a difficult situation. I don't know how she is now. I always feel uneasy in my heart." As the gentle and beautiful woman said this, she couldn't help but nod her head slightly.
"Alright, Mother. We couldn't protect them back then either. Hmm, I'll go find that kid Wuding in a little while and ask why the Third Aunt didn't come," Huchen Huiqing's slender jade hands gently quickened their tapping on the woman's shoulder, a cunning glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.
In another courtyard, this was a world of a sea of flowers. In the back garden, amidst a hundred flowers, stood a slender and graceful woman. She was holding a pair of scissors in her hand, bending over to trim a cluster of lilies in front of her.
"Did Huchen Le really say that?" She faced the flowers and did not raise her head, her eyes only on the flower branches she was trimming.
"Yes, Mother. The Foundation Establishment cultivator who returned with that kid Wuding had a very weak aura fluctuation, but the sense of danger was similar to some of the elders in the clan. I also arranged for Huchen Dong and two others to go and watch the Third Branch's former residence. According to their report, Wuding entered the courtyard after he returned and has not appeared since. And the First Branch's Steward Yu also went to observe, but he suffered a loss. His Divine Sense was injured when he probed. So our three people did not dare to make any more moves," behind the slender woman stood a fat young man. He was respectfully holding a dustpan, which contained scissors of various sizes and styles.
"Alright, Mother knows. But what does all this have to do with us? You can withdraw those three people as well. Huchen Wuding has been hiding all these years. His cultivation speed is probably very difficult to improve. With the family's old ancestor's emergence from seclusion, the one who is most worried is the First Branch. Mother has been careful for these decades and finally, there have been no problems. Jianghai, I have asked someone to find out some of the content of tomorrow's competition. You must prepare well. This time, show as much ability as you have. There is no need to be careful and hide it anymore. With the old ancestor out of seclusion, Xie Xiaoxiao's plans are nothing but empty joy. Do you understand?" she said, still bending over, trimming the flower branches.
And the fat young man behind her answered with a simple and honest "Yes." A harmless smile appeared on his face. He seemed to be muttering to himself in a low voice, "Brother Wanli, Sister Huiqing, from tomorrow on, I will give you a big surprise. I've been so tired of pretending all these years. Wuding, your return, is it a case of a fierce dragon crossing the river or not?" As for the other young disciples in the clan, he didn't even mention them in his heart. Those people seemed to be just foils.